Laker coach Eles running in Boston Marathon

Sunday

Apr 14, 2013 at 9:09 PMApr 14, 2013 at 9:11 PM

By Rob Roossports@sooeveningnews.com

SAULT STE. MARIE — Steve Eles seems to enjoy a challenge.

How else can someone explain his thinking after competing in his first Ironman Triathlon last September? Looking for the next obstacle to climb, the day after the Ironman Eles decided he would run in the Boston Marathon.

The Lake Superior State cross country coach will scratch another goal off his life list Monday when he runs in the 117th Annual Boston Marathon. Eles is in the elite first wave of 9,000 runners who will start at 10 a.m. and make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton, Mass. into downtown Boston. He will be wearing bib number 236, meaning he is 236th ranked among more than 27,000 overall expected runners.

"It was something on my bucket list," Eles said of running the Boston Marathon. "I just woke up the next day after the Ironman and decided I would try Boston. I guess making decisions like that are not uncommon for me. As soon as I finish one thing, I have the next thing on my mind. It just kind of happened that way."

Not surprising for a guy who runs approximately 100 miles a week, swims during his lunch break, and cross country skis just for fun. And that's just part of his recent winter workout schedule.

Eles can be seen running the streets of Sault Ste. Marie most mornings along with a group of Lake Superior State cross country athletes.

This will be the sixth marathon for Eles, who is no stranger to competitive running. The Sudbury, Ont. native is a former distance standout at Lake Superior State, and has coached cross country at LSSU since 2005. He was also formerly Laker track coach for five years before taking a position as multi-media specialist and director of LSSU's audio visual department.

The Boston Marathon, known as the crown jewel of distance racing, is both the longest annual and fastest marathon in the country. Approximately 500,000 spectators line the course just to watch.

Eles qualified for Boston by finishing seventh at the Detroit Free Press marathon in October with a time of 2 hours, 35 minutes and 57 seconds. Eles said he hopes to run somewhere around 2:32 to 2:36 at Boston Monday.

"I'm a very calculating runner and I know what kind of pace I'd have to keep to get below 2:30," Eles said. "I think I could do it, but I'm not gutsy enough to try it, especially at Boston.

"I'm not nervous about running," Eles said. "This is Boston though, which is something special. I am excited and curious to experience the atmosphere. The sheer volume of runners and spectators is like nothing else. There are no quiet zones or times when you are running just by yourself."

While he runs at Boston, Eles will probably be thinking about his next future challenge and goal —the Ironman World Championships.

"It's very difficult to get into," Eles said. "There are only 3,000 people at each Ironman and only 31 events world wide. Just to get there is very difficult, and then you have to qualify for the world championship."